Moe’s Southwest Grill – a fast-casual restaurant chain based in Atlanta – will open in the K-Mart shopping center on U.S. 1 in about two months, more proof that Vero Beach is looming on the radar of national restaurant brands a cut above fast food outlets like Burger King and McDonald’s.
In the past few years, Einstein Bagels, Chipotle and Chick-fil-A have planted their flags along U.S. 1 and State Road 60. Wawa, a popular gas station/restaurant combo brand, will open shortly and a trendy burger chain out of West Palm Beach called BurgerFi is looking for a site along the section of U.S. 1 section where Moe’s will be located.
Darren Tristano, president of Technomic, a Chicago-based food industry and restaurant research company, said there is a trend of popular brands moving into smaller markets such as Vero Beach because the bigger markets are getting saturated.
“We’re seeing aggressive growth in smaller markets,” Tristano said. “If you have a Panera Bread, Chipotle or Chick-fil-A, [then Vero can support] a brand like Moe’s.”
While Vero’s population base is not as big as many markets in the South Florida, Orlando or Tampa Bay regions, Indian River County is a growing market with a coveted small-town quality of life that appeals to many brands.
Vero Beach 32963 caught up with the operator of the new Moe’s restaurant to ask about the analytics that drove his decision to pick Vero, and why he chose the K-Mart Plaza location.
Thiago Pereira, a 10-year Moe’s franchisee who lives in an Atlanta suburb, said he has been looking at Vero Beach for four years, after acquiring a Moe’s in Jensen Beach in 2007 and opening a new store in Port St. Lucie in 2012. The Vero store will be his eighth location and he and his partners plan to open a Moe’s in Stuart in 2017.
After analyzing the Vero market, Pereira discovered there are a lot of older residents and snowbirds here, but also found there are enough families in the area to make his store profitable.
Moe’s fast-casual approach is comparable to the Tijuana Flats brand. Other Mexican fast-casual competitors include Chipotle, Qdoba and Baja Fresh. The menu includes burritos, burrito bowls, nachos, quesadillas and salads in the $6-$8.50 price range, along with tacos and drinks. The Moe’s average check is about $10.50, Pereira said.
Pereira added that he is buying into Indian River County’s steady growth of about 3 percent a year.
“We realize it’s a mature area [in terms of resident age] and we might not have many customers that are aware of Moe’s, but we will make them aware of Moe’s,” he said. “There is a high number of retirees but also a lot of families. There will be growth.”
Looking for a Vero location, Pereira was attracted first to the Miracle Mile area because he liked strong anchors such as Publix as well as the boutique shops. “Miracle Mile was my focus because it offered newer stores and is a happening section of town,” he said
But he eventually shied away because, “It’s a very competitive real estate market.”
Continuing to look, Pereira turned to the fast re-developing segment of U.S. 1 between 17th Street and 4th Street, and settled on developer Michael Rechter’s new retail space at the front of K-Mart Plaza, which was then still in the planning phase.
Pereira said his store will be an end store with good visibility from U.S. 1 in a building that will have Vittorio’s Pizzeria & Restaurant, Mattress One and a salon as other tenants.
“Getting on U.S. 1 opened our eyes,” Pereira said. “The visibility will attract a lot of customers.” Rechter said that 34,500 cars pass his shopping center daily.
“We see Vero Beach as a very good opportunity. We have Vero customers who go to our Moe’s stores in Port St. Lucie and Jensen,” Pereira said. “There is no restaurant like us within five miles.”
Pereira said his Vero Moe’s should succeed because “there is a lack of really good choices for southwestern cuisine and Moe’s has a following in Florida. We have strong brand recognition in Florida, especially south Florida.”
He’s aware that an Ay Jalisco Mexican restaurant has moved nearby on U.S. 1 from its former Publix shopping center along Miracle Mile. But he said that concept is different from the Moe’s fast-casual model.
Pereira, who owns stores in both Florida and Georgia, did note that construction costs in the Sunshine State are 25 percent more than in Georgia. It costs about $200 to $250 a square foot to build a new Moe’s building, with the complete start-up costs of new construction and equipment ranging from low $400,000s to high $600,000s.
The average annual revenue of a Moe’s is in the low $1 million range, he said.
Construction is expected to begin this month and the store is slated to open in late November or early December.
Pereira plans to spend marketing dollars and give away free burritos to launch the business. And he wants to work with charities to help with good causes and make his restaurant known in the community.
Atlanta-based Focus Brands owns the Moe’s brand, along with other brands such as Carvel, Auntie Anne’s and Cinnabon. There are 650 Moe’s stores across the U.S., including 80 in Florida.
